SummerArts: Classical Music

Mendocino Music Festival (Mendocino, CA)

(July 7-27, 2012) With its inaugural festival in 1986, the Mendocino Music Festival became the realization of a dream shared by former San Francisco Symphony principal bassoonist Walter Green and fellow classical musicians Allan Pollack and Susan Waterfall. The festival brings outstanding performers and exceptional music to one of the most picturesque locations in Northern California. Stylistically, the festival is all over the board: lectures, recitals, a piano series and an Emerging Artists Program take place during the day; while orchestral works, Big Band, chamber ensembles, blues, bluegrass and pop music fill the night air all over the city. The main festival venue is quite a sight to behold: a 16,000 square-foot tent concert hall overlooking the Pacific Ocean that houses 840 music lovers, not to mention a full orchestra. Tickets are available through the festival website and are affordable, given the world-class status of many of the performers. The festival also encourages (as do we) taking full advantage of the wide range of other cultural and culinary delights to be found in the area. (MS)

Public Transportation: Most events take place in the Festival Tent, which is a short walk from MTA bus 60 at Main Street/Lansing Street. All Mendocio venues are within a 15-minute walk from the Festival Tent. The Evergreen Methodist Church in Fort Bragg is a 5-minute walk from MTA buses 5, 60, and 65 at the FootLighters stop